Working With Broken People...

 

We had a good week but a tough week in the townships. It seems the longer we are there the more we are trusted and therefore the more people are willing to share with us. Just this week alone we had two people share with us they have been infected with HIV in the last few months. One of our close friends, Solomon, shared some of his deepest hurts growing up which included his uncle trying to kill him, rap, his mom being beat up, and alcoholism. It’s tough to know what to say when people share these kinds of things with you. It hit me more than ever though this week why we do what we do. I realized as a woman shared with us she was contemplating suicide because her boyfriend just gave her HIV and then kicked her out of his shack, that she literally has no hope without Christ. Then it hit me that she is no different than every person on this earth without Christ. Yes her HIV and homelessness brought the sense of hopelessness over her, but ultimately she was already hopeless even before these downfalls occurred. The only difference between this woman and the rest of the world was that her circumstances made her face the hopelessness of her state earlier than most. Our prayer is that the Lord takes these things and turns them into the most beautiful thing she could ever taste, eternal relationship with her maker. That is why Meehan and I are here. That is why we have committed our lives to reaching the lost.

“We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure”--Hebrews 6:19

“Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that comes in Christ Jesus our Lord” --Romans 8:38-39